Call Me Alice

​This story follows Edward “Alice” Jones, an individual that arrived in Humboldt County in 1927 shortly before the following accounts. Due to the vague nature of historic newspapers, we do not know about their life before these events.

In 1927 local officers were called to the Crannell area due to a report of a Black woman who was campaigning door to door asking for financial support for her three children and husband who was sick with tuberculosis.

Residents were also suspicious of the woman’s sex and coupled with the fact that panhandling was illegal at the time, authorities were dispatched to investigate. The Sheriff located the woman and told her she would need to come with him, she protested but eventually complied. At the County Jail she was subjected to an intense interrogation and was forced to reveal that “ She was a he.” 

Alice (Edward Jones) Mugshot from Eureka Jail Records, 1927 Humboldt County Historical Society

Though Jones was originally detained for charges of female impersonation, they were charged with vagrancy and given a six month sentence at the local jail. Five months into this stay Jones was transferred to the local hospital for an illness. During the hospital stay Jones escaped, however they were quickly detained again by police. After this Jones is portrayed as a nuisance to jailers in local newspapers and supposedly became “so violent that it was necessary to place him in the padded cell.” Only one incident of Jones’ supposed violence was reported to the papers is described as a shoe being thrown at a jailer’s head, however it did not hit the jailer. This incident led to jailers taking actions to have Jones declared insane. 

In quick succession, Jones was declared insane and transported to the Mendocino State Asylum for the Insane on May 6, 1928–not a pleasant place to be at the time. The asylum was overcrowded and patients regularly faced beatings and neglect from staff. 

Mendocino Asylum

In 1951, Jones’ name appeared again in newspapers as a key witness to a brutal murder that took place within the asylum walls.

Samuel Leech, a staff member, savagely kicked and stomped a frail 70-year-old patient, Thomas Simmons, to death for not getting dressed fast enough. Jones and another patient were witnesses to the assault and, once it was over, they were forced to carry Simmons’ body to the showers to wash off the blood and dispose of evidence.

The Mendocino State Hospital, c. 1910

Jones was questioned on the stand by the prosecutor representing Thomas Simmons, which provides valuable insight into Jones’ mental state and personal identity. While testifying, Jones stated that they preferred to be addressed as Alice. Although initially jolly and smiling, once questions shifted to the gruesome assault, Jones covered their face with their hands and their body shuddered—it was clear they had witnessed something truly horrific. 

Upon cross-examination by the defense attorney for Samuel Leech, it was clear that they were attempting to discredit Jones’ testimony by emphasizing their mental illness. While answering questions during cross-examination Jones stated that they were a “talking reindeer” and the cousin to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Jones continued and “delightfully identified the Borden’s Milk Company magazine advertisement of Elsie and Elmer as his mother and father,” adding that they “liked animals better than people.” The courtroom erupted into laughter and the attorney knew he had made his point, Jones was a vulnerable witness. 

The case became sensationalized and, instead of focusing on the gruesome slaying of an elderly man in the hospital’s care, it became “The Case of The Talking Reindeer.” The details of Jones’ testimony quickly overshadowed the facts of the case itself. The defense attorney had succeeded with his strategy of creating reasonable doubt that the witness might be unreliable. 

Despite significant forensic evidence against Leech—including a shoe impression left on Thomas Simmons’ ruptured liver that matched the heel of Leech’s shoes down to the placement of the nail holes—the defense attorney had successfully undermined Jones’ witness statements to the point that much of the jury was uncertain about the credibility of the account. After eight hours of deliberation, the jury reported to the judge that they were hopelessly deadlocked 9 to 3 for acquittal. The judge dismissed the case, declared it would not be retried, and Samuel Leech was set free.

Stay tuned for more developments on this research! I have reached out to the Napa State Hospital, which currently holds the archival records from the Mendocino State Asylum, and requested any and all documents related to Edward Jones’ time there. The goal is to gain a more complete picture of Jones’ mental health and to tell their story to give them the dignity they were denied in their lifetime.

Written and Researched by Jasmine Freitas
Edited by Dana Fredsti